Harker St, Waipawa, became part of the Waipawa River after the stopbank breached on Tuesday afternoon. Floodwaters scoured out the embankment under the rail bridge and swept up water tanks from a nearby business, flinging them down the road.
After what’s being called Hawke’s Bay’s “day of horror”, Central Hawke’s Bay is facing up to scene after scene of devastation.
At the height of Tuesday’s cyclone, as a national state of emergency was declared, CHB’s main bridges - the Waipawa Bridge and the Tukituki Bridge at Waipukurau -
were closed temporarily as floodwaters and debris threatened to overwhelm them.
Surface water flooded homes in Waipukurau - Svenson Rd and Belgrove Drive residents were evacuated in droves, some clutching pets and some with just a hastily-grabbed bag.
A couple of hours later there were similar scenes in Waipawa as residents from the main highway to “The Bush” at the bottom of Bibby St fled, evacuated as the heaving Waipawa River topped its stopbanks. About 150 homes were evacuated and many have been damaged.
Emergency Services were out in full force, door-knocking evacuees and rescuing flood victims. Central Hawke’s Bay District Council and Civil Defence were in tandem, gathering and giving out information and trying to stay ahead of a fast-moving and absolutely unprecedented situation.
Evacuation centres were swiftly set up in all the affected areas.
Many of CHB’s smaller communities have been cut off with roads flooded, blocked by slips and washouts and communications and electricity networks were damaged. Care is being urged on all CHB roads at this time.
CHB Mayor Alex Walker says: “We are still in ‘response’ mode and will be working in this mode for some time.
“A big focus will be connecting with communities - particularly Porangahau and our eastern coast, and in particular focusing on urgent need and how we best support them. This is particularly along the coast where there is no reception and there are multiple roading issues.”
On Tuesday afternoon council lost the ability to draw water from two main plants in Waipukurau and Waipawa. This means Waipawa, Waipukurau and Otāne need to critically conserve water.
Council is unlikely to be able to restore water for at least 3-4 days until the flood water recedes.
Households will need to collect bottled water and water for household activities like drinking, cooking and washing.
You can access water at the following locations:
• Waipawa Municipal Theatre on Kenilworth St
• Otane Hall
There will be a tanker at Racecourse Rd, Waipukurau, opposite GM Panel Beaters.
Council is sourcing bottled water and will look to have this available for rest homes in particular.
If there is a queue, the guidelines for filling is a maximum fill of one 20-litre container, then allow the next in line to fill.
You can return to the back of the line if more water is needed.
Civil Defence guidelines recommend you use 3L of water per person per day for a 3-day period.
Mayor Walker says: “We appreciate that these are exceptional circumstances, and appreciate your efforts. We acknowledge that this is going to have an impact on businesses as well, particularly cafes and eateries.
“We are a community that knows how to rally together, let’s continue to support one another through this time.”
If you require urgent assistance to evacuate please ring 111.
A flood victim believes more work is still needed to improve emergency alerts.